The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1887-06-05
NATIONAL ENCAMPMENT.
AEV. Or. 7. DEWITT TAlMAGE'S STIR
RING ADDRESS
To the MiIitiamen from Thirty-one States
and Territories in Camp at Washing
ton-DriIied soIdiery Superior to the
Unsiritled.

and Territories in Camp at Washing
ton-DriIied soIdiery Superior to the
UnsiriiIed.
WASHINGTON. May - - Soldiers of the /
national drill listened this afternoon tn a
sermon by the Rev. I. Dewitt Talmage, ID.
ID. SOhlieTs from thirty-One states and terri 4
tories were present, and nineteen governors /
and their stalls Washington j. full of stran- 4
gers attendant upon the national drill, having 4
for is Object Improvement in military science, /
which i.e.an May - and will close to-
morrow The music before and after the 4
sermon this afternoon was conducted by mill |
tary hands. Dr. Talmage's texts were taken |
from Chronicles xii, 81, Fifty thousand
which couhl keep rank and Judges TX, IL,
EVERY one could sling stones at hair |
breadth AMI not miss The preacher said:
Companies Of infantry, cavalry, artillery
and Il uay,,, please notice the first Scripture
I.ass;I.,,. spplat,ls the soldiers of Zebulun be-
cau~e they were disciplined troops. They
NAV have b,en Inefficient at the start and
lau.icd at by old soldiers because they
seen,l tuI.lsy in the line, but it was drill,
drill. drill until they could keep step as one
| man. Fifty thousand which could keep
rank The second Scripture passage APP
plautI- "a regiment of singers in the tribe of
| Ben janin br,.auss. they are dexterous marks
| men When they first enlisted they may
| have been an awkward squad and all their
| fingers We're thumbs, but they practical until
when they aimed al "A mark they always hit
| it, Every one could sling stones at hair
| breadth and not miss" Both texts combin-
ing To show Us that if we must fight we
/ should DO il well.
Their. i something absorbing in the military
| science. Of tine Bible. In ol,ien times all the
| men between - and 80 years of age were
| enrolled ia the army. and then a levy was
made for q special service. There were only
| three or four CLASSES exempt; those who had
| built "A houS.. and had not occupied it; those
vino had .aIit',l garden and had not reaped
| the fruit Of 10: those who We're engaged TO be
| married niri Ne: had not led the bride to the
| altar; thee WHO Yet in the first year of
| wetl'ie,i life; Those who were so nervous that
they could not look upon enemy but
they fie'l, and could not look upon blood but
! they tainted
The army was in three divisions-the center
and right and left wings. The weapons of
defense were helmet, shield, breastplate
buckler. The weapons of offense were sword,
| spear, javelin, arrow, catapult-whlch was
merely bow swung by machinery, shooting
arrows at vast distances, great arrows, one
arrow rs large several men could lift and
baIlista. which IA sling swung by machn-
cry, hurting great rocks and large pieces OF
lead 10 vast distances The shields were
made of woven willow work with three thick
nes-es Of hide and loop inside through which
the arm of the warrior might be thrust; and
when these soldiers marching to attack
an epemy the level, all these shields
touched each other, making a wall moving
but impcnetrablc; and then when they at
tackled fortress and tried to capture a bat
tIement this shield was lifted over the head
SO a. 2, resist the falling missiles. The breast
! plate made of two pieces of leather,
brass covered. one piece falling over the
breast, the other falling over the back. At
| TIN side of the warrior the two pieces fast
ened with buttons or clasps
| Thu bows were stout and stiff and strong
that warriors often challenged each other tc
bend one. The strings Of the bow were made
| from the sinelys of oxen. a case like an in
verted pyramid was fastened to the back,
that ease containing the arrows, SO that
when TIN. warrior wanted to arrow he
would put his arm over his shoulder and pull
forth the arrow for the fight. The ankle of
the foot had an iron boot. When wall was
to lie assaulted battering ram was brought
up. \ ha.tering ram was great beam
swung ON chains in equilibrium. The batter
inc ram would lie brought cbse "a to the
wall and iIcn great number of men would
TAX told of this beam, push it back as far as
they could and then let go, and the beam be
, cam. :, great swinging pendulum of destruc-
. ton
Twenty or forty men would stand in a
, movable tower on the back of an elephant,
the elephant made drunk with wine and then
headed toward the enemy, and what with the
heavy feet and the swinging probOscis and the
poisoned arrows shot from the movable
tower, the destruction was appalling War
| chariot, were in vogue, and they We're ON two
whe, Is. 81 they could easily turn. A sword
| was fastened to the pole between the horses,
| 50 when they went ahead the sword thrust,
| anil when they turned around it would NOW
| down. The armies carried flags beautifully
| embraidered Tribe of Judah carried a flag
, | embroidered with "A lion; tribe of Reuben,
| embroidered with a man; tribe of Dan, EN-
broi,ieIed with cherubim- The noise of the
= | hosts as they moved on was overwhelming.
| What with the clatter of shields and the
| rumbiiug of wheels and the shouts Of the
| CAPTAINS and the vociferation Of the entire
host the prophet says it was like the roaring
| of the SEA Because tie arts of war have
| been advancing all these years you are not to
co,,.Iud, TINT these armies of olden times
ver,, an uncomfortable mob. could quote
Won four or five passages of Scripture show
ing YOU that they were thoroughly drilled
they marched step to step, shoulder to shout
der or, a. my texts express 1t, they We're
sF,fty thousand which could keep rank, 4" and
every could sling stones at a halr
flrea. It'll and not miss
Nothing could he more important than
TIN, great National encampment. Undrilled
troops can never stand before those which
ar. drilled. At time when other nations
are giving. such care to military tactics, il
behoov,.s this nation to lack nothing in skill
W.. shall never have another war between
north and south. he old decayed bone OF
contention African slavery, has been cast
out, although here and there "A depraved poll
tician takes it up to see if he can gnaw some
thing OH Of IT, We are floating of further
and further from the possibility of sectional
strife, but about foreign invasion am not 81
sure There i absolutely no room on th
continent for any other nation. / have beer
across the country again and again; and
know that we have not a half inch of GROUND
. for th,, equity foot of foreign deSpotism q
stand on | do not know but that a hal
y dozen nations, envious Of our prosperity
may want to give us a wrestle. During
, our civil there were two o.
three nations that could hardly keep thei
!. hands off of Us. 1t is very easy to pick na
: tionaI auarreI>, and If our nation escapes
y much longer it Will be the exception III
foreign foe should come we want men AK
tbos.. OF lSl2 and like those who fought OF
both sides in 1862. We want them all up an'
dcGn the coast, Pulaski and Fort Sumter II
. the same chorus of thunder as Fort Lafayett
= and Fort Hamilton, men who VIII not onl.
20 know how to fight, but how to die. Whei
!, such Il time comes, if it ever does come, tn
\ generations on the stage of action will say
- NV country viii care for my family, as the
"a dill i'm the soldiers asyluns for the orphan
in the civil war, and my country viii homo
my dust a. it honors those who preceded m
in patriotic sacrifice, and once a year at an,
rate, on Decoration Day, / shall be res
al directed into the remembrance Of thos
ne for whom l died. Here 1 go for Go
H anil my country III foreign foe should eve